Silver
by CapriciousCaper
Summary: How to deal with hallucinations. 1. Freak out very mildly because even if it's cool you feel crazy. 2. Realize you aren't hallucinating and then freak out some more. 3. Figure out how to use this as an upper hand over your team.
1. Soul-Tail Munching

Title: Silver

Summary: How to deal with hallucinations. 1. Freak out very mildly because even if it's cool you feel crazy. 2. Realize you aren't hallucinating and then freak out some more. 3. Figure out how to use this as an upper hand over your team. 4. Feel good when they get pissed and annoyed and for once Sasuke and his stupid "annoyed" can suck it and you're now way more awesome than him even though you have a crush on him. 5. Automatically become the new it Kunoichi because Sasuke can't see through you and everyone can see him interested in you. Duh.

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><p><em>Long before the existence of mankind, there were only beings. The natural creations of the harmonious flow between spiritual chakra in the atmosphere, and natural chakra in all its forms. These beings were barely humanoid, instead they exuded spirals of energy as they walked. As centuries passed, they slowly began to take different shapes. Beings that held Earth chakra slowly changed into animalistic creatures, beings of Water chakra morphed into lakes, their spirals of energy flowing and spreading into their watery abodes, transforming into beings to live harmoniously in the lake. <em>

_The four mothers from whom every sister of the earth originated, Sui, Ka, Hei and Chikyu. When humans beings came into existence, these nymphs and half-spirit creatures disappeared from sight and left behind those that had transformed into animals. Water nymphs opened up pockets of nature life-force within their watery havens, taking themselves to beyond what reality the lakes were. The energy that they floated and frolicked in, inaccessible to human-spiritual chakra. _

_A few of them stayed behind. Becoming the legends and myths, the yokai and nymphs that were passed on through generation. _

_Two such beings were Arachii and Seryuu. One with hair as dark as the blackest sky, the other with hair as blue as clear water. Arachii with her blood-red eyes was a half earthen spirit and half arachnid, one of the first descendants of Chikyu. Seryuu was the spirit of the lake, the second daughter of Sui. _

_Both beings were in a glade, with a gentle waterfall located in the center of the lake and tall trees and mountains behind. They had warped the old magick in the air to ensure that humans didn't find them, content to frolic as they pleased._

_"Arachii, you really have been quite naughty haven't you?" Seryuu giggled, her glistening, silvery hand coming to rest on the earth._

_"I don't know what you're talking about Ryuu, if anything you're the one being naughty, never coming back with me to visit mother." She retorted playfully, her long hair morphing into dozens of tiny little spiders and back into thin strands of hair._

_"Well now I'm not the one who let myself get seen by a traveler, you didn't have to take such a big bite out of his soul now did you?" Seryuu motioned at her sister, before spotting another earthen sister go past her in a hurry, in one of the pockets of natural life-force._

_"I didn't actually bite anything important, just his tail mind you, and you know I would never do that." _

_"Well... I suppose so, we would get in trouble with that."_

_"You're already in trouble now aren't you Ryuu?"_

_Said sister with her hair as liquid as the lake around her scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about."_

_"Now don't you go mimicking me, it's a hideous quality that those humans have," Her sister muttered, before carrying on "And I wasn't the one who went ahead and sung a stranger to his death, I bet mother wouldn't even be that annoyed if you actually went home for a visit every now and then."_

_"Well mother Ka and Sui can't really stop us, and the humans never really die, it's just those shells of theirs that get a bid... stuck," Seryuu chuckled, "And you know it was Ryu who did it not me."_

_"Don't play ignorant Ryuu... it's my thing, not yours... and yes of course I know, and you know just as well that Ryu is interconnected to you, I know you could have stopped it."_

_"Well maybe I wanted to see that lecherous, pathetic scum of a man crash into a huge iceberg."_

_"Naughty. Then again you are my sister."_

_"Yes and mother said that she didn't like this world, or the spirit world too much because it was dirty, never because of whatever consequences that could come about because of our actions."_

_Seryuu flicked her serpentine energy swirls that made up the bottom half of her body, blending in with the water around her, up and out of the water. Sending fat droplets of water at her sister. Arachii retaliated by smacking her sister with a vine. Seryuu laughed before noticing someone coming close to their environment. With a silent motion to her lips, she and her sister faded away into their respective elements, keeping a full degree of awareness of their entire location and the others' position. Seryuu moved her sight throughout the forest, the dew and liquid in the air giving her a fantastic view of the place. _

_A little girl came through the bushes, her gait was uncertain and trembling. _

_The water spirit moved forward to eye the child, interested in how the little one had come upon their territory._

_"She's just a little baby Arachii, isn't she adorable?"_

_"Her soul must be ridiculously pure for her to stumble this way."_

_"I wonder?"_

_Arachii looked at the girl, surveying her from head to toe._

_"We rarely see anyone with a soul this pure, it's quite special."_

_"And we like special things don't we?"_

_"..."_

_"We don't know how pure this child truly is, it could be a fluke Arachii..." Seryuu moved back and looked at the little girl again, "But she is dirty and bruised, I think she needs a bath."_

_The water spirit took hold of the girl, and after carefully maneuvering a bubble of air around the child's mouth and nose, took the child with down under through the blurriest, natural life-source pocket in the water and brought her up again. Her fingers smoothed and washed the little girl's cheeks and hair, smiling as she hiccupped and giggled._

_"What did you do?" Arachii asked._

_"I took her through the little air-hole."_

_"That deep? And did she get through it?"_

_"She did, her soul really is pure." Seryuu's voice was tinged with marvel and excitement._

_"And she has pink hair, looks a little like the blossom nymph."_

_"So rare we find a soul untainted by greed..."_

_"And lust..."_

_"She is really quite lovely... but we better take her back home Arachii."_

_"Through a pocket then? Since she seems to be able to take it?"_

_Seryuu nodded. Her fingers glowed white for a moment before a transparent force seemed to split the air in half. They stepped through it into a weightless void, unknowingly saturating the young girl in Seryuu's arms with the most concentrated essences of the natural earthen life-force. Floating out until they reached the edge of the forest, they released the girl. _

_Seryuu bent down and pressed her forehead against the little girl, "If the strings of fate deem it so, perhaps we will meet again little one."_

_The two retreated into the shade, their swells of natural chakra making no impact on the shinobi around them._

* * *

><p>Over the next few years, toddler Sakura found her way back to the glade so often, her mother no longer fretted quite so much when she went missing.<p>

_"Back so soon little Hatsuko? You just came a few days ago." Seryuu said, her voice like melodious chimes._

_'Hatsuko' gurgled happily, her aura melding in with the special energies the sisters were exuding into the background. _

_"Shall we play with bubbles again Hatsuko?" Seryuu asked, her fingers conjuring up a little droplet of water. When the little child nodded, she flung the droplet into the air, conjuring up more and more. The little girl was taking to the usual games she played with her nymph and spirit sisters like a koi to a pond. She didn't think it was normal, for a human to be able to interact with her kind so easily, much less use the same abilities they had, but she didn't pay it any mind. They all came from the four mothers, human beings merely didn't have the earth's life-force in them, although she suspected her little Hatsuko had picked up on some, it probably wasn't a big deal._

_"Do you think you can catch water this time Hatsuko-chan?" She asked, fingers forming a web of glistening droplets. _

_"Ready? Okay now... an... twe... breo!" She threw the droplets into the air again, laughing at the smile on the child's face as she caught them in her hand._

_She could still remember when she was teaching the little girl how to play the water. It had been a fairly tough task, and she found it had been easier when the child was within the energy pockets. _

_'Can you feel how my hands are like when I hold the bubbles little Hatsuko-chan?' The little girl nodded._

_'Yeah... do you think you can make your hands feel the same way?' _

_And the energy within the girl, slowly, over the course of a few months had eventually come into a little bit of balance with her spiritual chakra._

_Her mother had frowned on it at first, but even she couldn't deny what a pure soul the young girl had._

_"Seryuu stop hogging her." Arachii whined and tried catching Sakura's attention with a vine. _

_She smiled gleefully at her sister before motioning to Sakura play with the leaves the same way Seryuu had taught her. _

_"Can you hide in the tree Hatsuko-chan?"_

_"I can I can!" And the little girl ran in the direction of the tree, only to bump into it and fall down._

_"You silly darling, what have I told you before?"_

_"Feel for the same thing the tree and I have.. but it's hard nee-chan."_

_"That's alright, would you like to swing from the vines again instead?"_

_Arachii looked at her sister knowingly as the vines wrapped around Sakura and she swung around the glade._

_"Quite proficient for a little human isn't she Seryuu?"_

In fact, the little girl became so accustomed to the energy, Seryuu and Arachii once found her wandering along a path in the different plane. How she had gotten there they didn't know, but it was something she planned to teach the girl later on.

_"I don't think I can come back here anymore nee-chan." Sakura said while playing with a little glob of water. _

_Seryuu paused mid-bite, fingers holding onto a strawberry Sakura had brought with her and turned to her little Hatsuko._

_"Why not Hatsuko-chan? You haven't grown too much for us now have you?"_

_"No.. but my mom yelled at me the other day for running away and hiding too often, she said I can't do it anymore if she can't come with me..."_

_Arachii sighed and Seryuu nodded. It was just something she and Sakura had agreed on, that she would keep her and this place a secret. The mother wouldn't be able to come this way anyway, her soul though not a bad one, would never be as pure as a baby's, and the likelihood of her absorbing the energy without damaging her human body was very low. _

_"I'm sorry my nee-chans. I don't want to miss you or forget you... but I can't not listen to my mom..." Sakura mumbled, tears starting to fall._

_"Shh... shh... don't cry Hatsuko-chan," She said as she pressed her forehead to Sakura's, "You won't forget me, I can promise you that."_

_Seryuu smiled and said, "How about one last dive little Hatsuko?" Gesturing to the lake. "You know how to do the bubble yourself now too."_

_They dove into the water and Seryuu took her up the waterfall, the one thing that this plane shared with the energy pockets. It was imbued with very old energy from her mothers time, and as a parting gift, Seryuu thought it would be nice to add a little kick to the energy in her dear girl, intertwining it fully with her own spiritual chakra so that wherever she went she would be recognized as one of them._

_When Sakura came back up to the surface, her appearance had changed ever so slightly, and only someone from her world would be able to pick up on it, or rather it was something only another being that had natural energy would notice. Her eyes had a silvery sheen to them and her pink hair was lighter._

_"Now, I know you're still quite young but I want you to remember this Hatsuko-chan," She said as her fingers tucked Sakura's hair behind her ears, "You're really one of us now, you just have to practice so that the other you inside, can handle this... and no matter where you are, if you need help, you only need to ask and we will be there to help you."_

_Sakura sniffled a bit._

_"I promise."_

_"You know Seryuu, it's kind of unfair that you get that special waterfall. I didn't exactly have anything to give Hatsuko-chan."_

_"Well don't think I haven't noticed you feeding her poison just to get her immunity up, she's too young for that."_

_"I can't teach her how to tear someone's body apart or give her a spider bite now can I?"_

_"She can talk to us sister, to nature, to all the leaves and spirits around her. And you were the one that taught her how to create things out of air with her energy."_

_"Still doesn't count." Arachii sulked._

_"Well think about it like this. There's plenty more you can teach her later on, even how to secrete poisonous energy."_

_"True... which would be fun I guess... I just can't believe you get to use the waterfall."_

_"Deal with it, it's a water spirit thing."_

_"You're the only water spirit who gets to use it."_

_"I know." She smirked._

* * *

><p>So what do you guys think? Confusing? Yeah I got a little bit confused now but I think, I'm going to start calling the place that the beings stay in as planes or just the Void, because it's easier, and the other energy sakura has will just be natural energy.<p>

So let me know what you guys think and if I should do it non-massacre or massacre okay?

I'm happy to dole out answers if you have any questions at all.


	2. Naked People

Title: Silver

Summary: How to deal with hallucinations. 1. Freak out very mildly because even if it's cool you feel crazy. 2. Realize you aren't hallucinating and then freak out some more. 3. Figure out how to use this as an upper hand over your team. 4. Feel good when they get pissed and annoyed and for once Sasuke and his stupid "annoyed" can suck it and you're now way more awesome than him even though you have a crush on him. 5. Automatically become the new it Kunoichi because Sasuke can't see through you and everyone can see him interested in you. Duh.

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><p>At the age of six, Sakura decides she would like to be a ninja.<p>

"A full-fletched ninja mom!"

Her mother looks worried and amused at her daughters choice of words and her ambition.

She is all fragile with her light pink hair and chubby cheeks, puffing with air and determination.

"Please?"

When she's asked why, her answer is: "Because ninja protect, and are cool."

The next time she is asked, her answer is that "- with super long black hair, and red eyes and he is so cool okaa-san."

And the time after that "- All the girls there are so pretty and all the boys like them."

And her mother knows she is just making it up each time because Sakura doesn't like dresses, rarely brushes her hair and doesn't bother looking at boys.

As for Sakura, she doesn't know why either. She just has a very faint feeling within her mind that she can't explain. She needs to become a ninja, because then she can... she can what? She wants to protect her mother, she wants to be like that really awesome black-haired ninja, she does want to be pretty but not now 'cause boys have cooties... but why else? Why? She wants to be... to be... closer? Closer to what?

The feeling is fleeting and disappears as soon as it comes, leaving her scrambling with words that do not impress her mother any more than her excuse to be just like the shinobi Princess with blonde hair who can do whatever she wants whenever she wants.

* * *

><p>"There he is Sakura! Isn't he so handsome?"<p>

The blonde beside her was overcome with glee, her lower eyelids and the sides of her eyes scrunched up, hands on either side of her face and legs swinging madly. At ten, Sakura had become rather good friends with Ino, the blonde taking an instant liking to the shy young girl and took it upon herself to 'transform' her into someone with confidence. That however, also meant introducing her to Konohas cutest heartthrob, the brooding and handsome Uchiha Sasuke.

Truth be told Sakura didn't think he was all that good-looking. Very black obsidian eyes and features she could stare at all the time, but she honestly wasn't attracted to him. Until of course Ino started pointing out all the things he did and all the very positive things about him.

"Look at that shaggy black hair Sakura! Doesn't he just look so CUTE?"

"He's such a good shinobi Sakura-chan!"

It didn't work that fast, Sakura prided her little self on not being shallow and liking all the cute guys in her class and year immediately without any kind of background.

At ten and a half years old, Sakura was more observant and smart for her age. She understood that she was different from the shinobi around her, from Ino and all her classmates at the academy. She needed to work hard in the academy because she didn't have shinobi parents. She liked her history of Konoha, enjoyed researching anything and everything that quelled her obsession for knowledge, and was utterly fascinated by the ninja around her. Equally as enthralled with the fact that one day she would end up like one of them. As fast and cool and amazing at everything.

The academy was a place she explored herself and her capabilities. Classes were a breeze and physical training, while not as natural to her as it was to some -Clan children-, it was something she continued to strive for.

"Throw it straight Sakura, that way it hits the target one hundred percent."

"If I throw it straight, it won't hit the target at all sensei."

She could hear Sasuke scoff at her from a distance, but she bit her own tongue when he failed anyway and his brother watched him.

Serves him right.

When she sees him again, this time in the library, she has to take a quick breath. Because this time, he is actually just so cute. And she doesn't like being shallow but that sunlight hitting his head reminds her of angels and one other thing she can't remember, his hair is longer and so, so black, and his skin is so bright and pale and white she can't help but become yet another fangirl.

She doesn't give him chocolates, or chases after him. But she does go up to him at breaks, to sit with him and winces when he just leaves. She brings an extra bento and when he scoffs at her again, she gets mad and hands the damn bento off to a random guy in her class.

As such, she ends up being as much a fan girl as Ino is, but maintains a quiet façade. By the time she's twelve, she decides that she really doesn't like him even though she does because he is such an. ASS! AND he is rude and not nice and she gets him chocolates ONE TIME and he calls her annoying again. It's not like she asks him out on dates or stupid things like that, he just assumes because she has a mild mild crush on him, spurred on by the infatuated Ino so it never really ends, that she is automatically lower than him on whatever thing he measures them on.

She still brings bentos because hey, she and Ino have agreed on bi-weekly rotations and breaks and lunches where they have their own turns that is now more or less a habit. She still hands of her bentos to random males in the class whereas Ino now dumps them off onto Shikamaru and Chouji. As such, by the time it is the week they graduate, Sakura is more or less know as the-nice-girl-who-gives-us-good-food-every-other-week. As long as you return your bentos nice and undamaged, she is happy.

* * *

><p><em>"-suko"<em>

_The voice is melodious and familiar, like tinkling bells and sweeping winds. She feels refreshed and protected. It's not something she understands but she feels herself rushing to the voice, this was important. _

_Liquid silver eyes, eyes the color of coagulating blood, beings that were blurry and ethereal. _

_"Handsome isn't he?"_

_And there is Ino's voice, bright and high-pitched with a certain quality about it that reverberates and grates her eardrums sometimes._

_She has a faint recollection of someone saying that before. A different voice. A voice that is slightly husky, as if layered in multiple pitches, all soft, all at the same time. _

_"He is family, my family."_

_He was dark. And sparkly. With skin that shimmered and features she couldn't quite see._

Sakura couldn't remember much of her dream. Her only conscious thought being that she had a really good imagination.

**_Pah your imagination._**

And there was the bane of her entire, beautiful mind. The one thing in her head that was seriously not beautiful. Her inner.

_**I'll have you know I am gorgeous. With hair longer than you could ever imagine and a better mind to boot!**_

Not really. Sakura had hoped she was just a projection of her anger issues. Maybe a representation of how bad she was with her anger management, and maybe when she learned to speak her mind more often her inner would go away.

Wasn't working yet, maybe in another eight years or so.

Sighing, she got up and brushed her hair. Today was her last day as an Academy student. Hello real world.

She put on a bright blue skirt and a wine-colored, sleeveless top that had her family symbol on it. Big day.

"- most beautiful ninja, I was obligated to take his flowers you know?"

Sakura smiled and nodded, listening to yet another one of Inos long rants about the male population of Konoha and how they really weren't up to par. Except for one of course.

"The only one who really matches up would be Sasuke-kun you know? I'm the number one Kunoichi in our year, no offense Sakura-chan but you know, clans, and Sasuke-kun is the number one rookie of our year, we're perfect for each other, and OH MY GOSH SASUKE-KUUN!"

Her squeal was several octaves higher than usual and Sakura wondered privately if Ino would ever consider a professional job breaking glass and doing banshee like things. She glanced over to the direction Ino's eyes were at, rolling her eyes at the guy's swagger. How did he even do that? Ino was so streetsmart, and here she was with glazed eyes and a drippy nose because she sat out in the rain waiting to pounce on her love.

Sakura had to admit, she did find him attractive, what with the mussed hair and his great ability at throwing kunai accurately, but besides that, the guy had the personality and social skills of a rock. Hell even a bull would have better communication skills seeing as they grunted in different tones.

Never mind she had the teeniest, tiniest crush on the dude.

Well well well, while she was lost in her thoughts, Naruto decides to have a sweet kiss with Sasuke eh?

"At least he's blonde Ino, you're one step in."

But Ino wasn't listening. Steam was very likely puffing out of her ears and her face was reddening all the way up to her ears.

Poor Naruto.

Thank god Iruka-sensei came in at such a good time.

Aaand... she took her last sentence back completely.

Fine, she could forgive her abominable choice of teammates, really Naruto was brave at the very least and skilled if she wasn't trying to compliment him, and Sasuke at the very worst was intelligent with good skills. Nevermind they both were ridiculous in their own ways, who the hell decided it would be fun giving her a sensei that was freaking Sharingan Kakashi?

First of all, she had read his damn report so she knew that he didn't freaking pass anyone and he sure as hell was annoying. Always three hours late, perverted with no taste in literature, not to mention he graduated at the lovely age of five, chuunin at six, jounin at thirteen and for the love of all that was lovely he was an ANBU at age seventeen. This guy was a freaking fantastic and rocked at being a ninja, so what was he doing as HER SENSEI?

WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

This guy was a killer. Well they were all being brought up to be killers but this guy was like, a killer of killers.

She was kind of a little bit, very scared. She highly doubted someone that respected in the shinobi world would want to be their sensei and if, very likely, so, what got him to be her sensei?

Not to mention now he hated them and was going to kill all of them -okay maybe not Sasuke because he was an illustrious Uchiha- but she surely didn't stand a chance.

_Why Naruto? Why did you do something so stupid and reckless and brave but will get us killed?_

"My first impression of you guys is... I hate you." He said, with a deadpan and a monotone.

Not that that was an issue anymore because "I am Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling you my likes and dislikes. As for my dream... I have few hobbies." And we needed to introduce ourselves now. Great.

Naruto bounced up and down in his seat, readily volunteering his information.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen. I hate the _three minutes you have to wa-i-t whi-le th-e-"_

In the distance, or maybe it wasn't the distance, a tree moved. But it didn't. Its branches seemed to come even more alive than it even was, a being or entity uncoiling itself from... the tree... with all the flowers and leaves upon it.

Was she hallucinating?

_Pretty..._

The being had an ethereal quality to it, which was kind of expected but still. Female, with short red hair that came to a point above her head, held there by some magic while the rest of the hair fell softly, giving her hair the shape of meringue. Her skin was the palest shade of green, almost cream and glowed, both from the inside and from dozens of tiny little dew droplets. Dark green eyes with an amber gradient, pupils that were white with a ring of black, and lashes that framed these eyes.

Like any normal human being pulling themselves out of bed, she pulled herself out of the tree with no effort. Legs first, arms supporting her from behind. As each limb sort of, appeared from the tree, the girl's skin morphed from bark, to varying shades of brown and green before finally settling on the same shade of green her faces was. Her clothes, if they could be called clothes, were just diaphanous green and brown fabrics, swaying much like the air around her. The only thing really covering her modesty were leaves and flowers in strategic placement.

The being hopped out, treading air has she landed and sashayed past her team. Her eyes flickered to Sakura and with her head cocked to one side, continuously eyed Sakura before disappearing into the water.

_Giving me the weird look? Has she looked in a mirror lately?_

**_I don't think you're hallucinating._**

_Of course I am, you'd think someone would have noticed her by now, but no. No one here has noticed her. I'm sure that if Naruto saw her, he'd freak. She's pretty much naked hello?_

**_I think they've finished talking, and are looking at you weird now. You've kind of been in a trance._**

_Oops. I have?_

**_Yeah._**

Well now wasn't that just a little bit awkward?

"Huh?"

"It's your turn."

Oh. OH.

"Ah... I- I see. Well my name is Haruno Sakura and I like... my friends and food I guess?" This was harder than she thought it was, "I like hanging out in the flower gardens... I dislike... stereotypes and unnecessarily mean people... my dream is... to be a really good shinobi... as for hobbies... I like to read and swim."

* * *

><p>As Sakura walked home after her instructions from Kakashi to meet at an ungodly hour, she realized something. There were a lot, and she meant, a lot, of strange beings walking around. Some of them had no legs, just some kind of mist or smoke , barely human in shape. They weren't particularly scary, in fact, they behaved a lot like normal human beings. Mothers with black or silver or green or any color of hair would pile their strands onto their heads, walking around with smaller versions of themselves and laughing and running around.<p>

Or running through people and said people not noticing.

At first, she thought she was seeing ghosts. But if she were seeing ghosts, shouldn't they look.. more normal or frightening? Or did dying and going to heaven or hell - no discrimination here- give souls and spirits some kind of pass to go crazy with their looks and hairstyles?

Cause if that did happen... well Sakura couldn't do anything since she already had pink hair but she wouldn't mind having shiny water droplets on her collarbone.

_Among other areas._

If she didn't make eye contact, the spirits didn't seem to notice her. Walking along as if this was ordinary, daily life. And then a little green haired boy with red eyes and red-tinged skin looked at her. And he waved. She nearly waved back but she didn't want a repeat of what had already happened.

When she moved out of the areas filled with people, she began to notice something else. These beings... crowded different areas. She spied several females with gold hair and skin at the top of a house, or rather on some kind of mist that hung above a house. A few males with silver skin and black hair hung around trees and disappeared into the asphalt. She even saw a tanned girl, all muscles and long brown hair walking... in a cat. Disappearing in and out of the cat as they headed down to the random forest openings around Konoha.

For some reason, she didn't feel intimidated. Just quite a bit embarrassed because all these beings seemed to really not give a damn about clothes. The closest thing she had actually seen to clothes was a very sheer, very large petal of sorts, in long layers around the girls waist. Clothing was more for fashion than modesty apparently.

_Very nice taste in jewelry though._

When she noticed a being with floaty gold chains around her waist, forming an intricate pattern around her back and down to her finger tips, then connected to more sheer most-like clothing.

She was almost home when she saw a very petite girl ahead of her, walking with a boy. Both more or less naked, with shining skin and gradiating yellow-brown hair. Hand in hand frolicking until they reached her garden.

Holy shit her garden. These random beings, had just gone to her freaking garden. With the strawberry plants and cabbage and the one rabbit that ate more carrots than likely possible. Oh and now they were happily touching and making out... were they? Were they just going to go at it.. right.. here? In the middle of nowhere where everyone could see the- oh.

Oh okay so they sank into the grass. Sakura pretended not to notice the girl pointing at her, before smiling at the guy and walking up to her... and oh this was just absolutely great, through her. She couldn't actually feel anything but... oh no she could feel a tingling sensation.. now an actual hand, complete with fingertips touching her arm and hair. The being just laughed and pulled the guy with her into thin air.

Well... that was a bit.. odd.

* * *

><p>It was when she was preparing to sleep that Sakura thought she heard something.<p>

A scrape... a fluttering of whatever, and when she looked out of the window, she realized that a bird had come to rest on the lower roof, right beside her window. Then it transfigured into a female, with blue-black hair and purplish skin. She couldn't see her face, but her skin had patterns around them, in whites and golds.

"Sakura dear."

Sakura turned back, noticing her mother come in. Would her mother see the girl?

And then the girl started singing. High-pitched with lilting, honeyed tones. Her voice went very high up the musical scale, never once actually forming words, just one continuous sound that didn't end.

Surely her mother could hear the girl?

"Yes okaa-san?"

"You better go to bed soon, since you have such an early start tomorrow."

"Okay," and just as a test, "Can you hear that okaa-san?".

If she couldn't... well she could just pass it off as the wind.

"Yes, I can. Very lovely sound isn't it? I wonder what sort of bird it is?"

It sounded like a bird to her mother? It sounded very, very human to Sakura. The girl would probably make a world class singer, if she wanted.

The bird slash human, never once stopping to sing, looked behind her, staring at her mother with silvery eyes and preening at the compliment. Sakura made sure to keep her eye on the bird instead of the humanoid figure next to the bird.

Then another bird flew over. Lilac skin with very short, wavy hair in different strands of corn. Instead of being fully humanoid, large black wings with white tips on her feathers spread out behind her. One wing closing behind the girl with darker purple skin.

_Aww._

**_So cute._**

The girl with darker skin stopped singing and moved over to press a kiss on the other girl. Her own long dark hair acting like an arm and coiling around her shoulders. They began nuzzling noses and sang together, in different harmonious tunes.

She felt a bit bad staring at an adorable couple in what was obviously an intimate moment. So she moved back, closed her window, closed the door behind her mother and went to sleep.

**_Birds officially have a better love life than you._**

_Shut up._

* * *

><p>And there you have it. Results of my overactive imagination.<p>

Review it, speculate. All is welcome.


	3. Illusionist

Title: Silver

Summary: How to deal with hallucinations. 1. Freak out very mildly because even if it's cool you feel crazy. 2. Realize you aren't hallucinating and then freak out some more. 3. Figure out how to use this as an upper hand over your team. 4. Feel good when they get pissed and annoyed and for once Sasuke and his stupid "annoyed" can suck it and you're now way more awesome than him even though you have a crush on him. 5. Automatically become the new it Kunoichi because Sasuke can't see through you and everyone can see him interested in you. Duh.

* * *

><p>Bell tests, Sakura decided, were not cool and out of date.<p>

Why?

Well it had a 33% rate of success, which when you turned around was basically a 66% rate of failure. It was a bad thing, no questions asked.

She hadn't had breakfast thanks to her absent-mindedness and she had already finished her three granola bars and two apples because she was hungry as hell.

Her teammates were idiots, as strong as they already seemed what with Sasuke and fire-jutsu, and Naruto with his... interesting way of using basic jutsu.

Her teammates were also strong, and she had already seen them in action with her new sensei... compared to her she really did not have much of a chance.

Even better, her teammates refused to work together with her. That broody Sasuke and his stupid arrogance were going to get to him someday, and she'd be there to photograph it.

And now, her cover was blown. Because she lost her footing on a freaking tree, never mind most genin knew how to hop from tree to tree, staying on one with moss and the like was tough!

And she was starving!

**_Well it's kind of your own fault you're in this position now._**

_How is it my fault? Kakashi-sensei said not to eat cause we'd puke so-_

**_Bullshit. You were too busy watching those horny birds-_**

_I WAS NOT!_

**_Psh. I'm you darling, a more fabulous, more perfect and more stylish you but back to the point, you knew just as well as I do that a good breakfast helps, not hinders us in the morning. You just got sidetracked! You just watched those lovers make out and-_**

_Okay fine. It's not all my fault that I forgot to analyze the problem, you saw how those girls were making out and getting all touchy-feely, and they could hardly tell I was watching._

**_Voyeur._**

_No! I mean, it's fascinating! They look like they're just chilling over there as birds, and then their human forms are getting super hot and heavy and-_

**_I maintain my case, vo-yeur._**

_I'm NOT! It's just... well I learned a lot in that one session.. and.._

**_Oh god those perverted what-if when you get with Sasuke thoughts are coming back... _**

_It's not like I want to! He's a jerk but I can't help it since I like him!_

**_Well find another freaking star of your bed-rock show. Sasuke is annoying me, and I would like to take back all my shannaros concerning any victory with him starting... now._**

_You can't just take it back Inner! That's not fair! We're in this together!_

**_Then get rid of your thoughts so we can be freaking out of it together!_**

_Out of it... what is this nonsense.._

**_Pure and utter intelligence, I can assure you of that._**

_Inner!_

**_Stop whining, that new sensei of ours is coming up behind us somewhere so stop staring into space._**

Sakura shook her head very slightly, and then turned herself around, feeling out her sensei's chakra. To her surprise, it was right behind her. She turned around, gripping her kunai tightly, determined not to go down looking like a fool. She could feel a sliver of chakra surrounding her, playing around her eyes and ears, her sensei was nowhere to be found.

Forcing herself not to get scared by how weird the situation was, she shut her eyes momentarily and tried to banish the chakra that was around the area. When she opened her eyes, the scene before her resembled a bad 3D movie with red and green glass that weren't working. She shook her head again and rubbed her eyes, she was sure she wasn't hallucinating. She turned round and round until she hit three-sixty multiple times, shocked at what she was seeing.

Her vision seemed to have split into three different scenes. The first, was the original one. Where she had been standing, the placement of the trees were as normal and in the distance, she could hear Naruto yelling multiple different insults, all aimed at Kakashi. Her sensei was still nowhere to be seen, but she could feel his presence all around her, and at the same time concentrated in one specific area.. to her left.

The second scene was more morbid and less realistic than the first. Her long time crush, Sasuke, was walking out to her from under the low-hanging branches of trees, coming out from the pure black darkness. His eyes were intense, his body shape hunched over with numerous weapons embedded in his flesh, blood was dripping from his wounds and he was mumbling something, words she could barely read from his lips calling her name. He would drop to the ground, as if dying, and then his body would disappear, only to repeat his entrance from the very dark area beyond the trees.

The third part of her sight, was incredibly similar to the fantasy world she had seen the day before. Except this time, there was a transparent background layered over the original land, blurring in and out of her vision. The number of nymph-like and spirit-like creatures had increased by a massive number. She blinked, and all of a sudden her vision seemed to have split further, and all she saw was a tunnel like appearance of this background. From a large lake in front of her, to a tiny peach orchard that extended all the way beyond the clouds and what she could see. It was very beautiful, complete with a waterfall and swirling vines. All of a sudden, she swore the little pool beneath that waterfall, was underneath her feet. She gasped, forcing chakra to her feet and blinked hard. And then, that orchard was no more and the hokage monument was there in its place.

Sakura gasped, she looked around, and seeing the three different scenes becoming blurry, took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the prettiest scenery. She looked around, she was standing under the tallest, most stately trees she had ever seen. The wood was a shimmering deep bronze, the branches arching out elegantly toward the sky, and little petals fell all around her. She heard a sharp inhale of breath, and the gap around her body was suddenly gone. She couldn't see the original landscape or the vision with Sasuke, all she saw were maidens of all colors flocking to her.

_"So bright... she shines..."_

"_Not one of us..."_

_"Blessed by Osui..."_

_"Human..."_

_"No.. she's not fully human..."_

_"Her shell has a sheen..."_

A young girl, with hair so blonde and light it was translucent, her eyes the color of chrome, walked up to her. Her fingertips brushed Sakura's hair before she rushed back. Little elfen babies, with watery forms and silvery eyes, hair and skin, rushed to her. Overwhelmed, Sakura just relinquished whatever control she had been using to look at the fantasy scenery. Immediately, she could see the original landscape again. She saw several of the creatures look up shocked, that she was gone, and one by one, several of them stepped through something.. that glowed white for a short while and stayed there, some walked around and the rest went back in. Other creatures in the same plane as those spirits that stepped out, chirped or spoke notes of melody, some stressed in different intonations than others. The girls would point at her, and they would look around. Some came up to her, but although they reached out to touch her, they no longer could.

Sakura blinked again, and forced herself to concentrate on the original landscape. The images of the fantasyland faded until it was so faint, she could barely see anything, the whitish glows and the spirit-like beings around her faded to translucency, and now, she decided to concentrate on the nightmarish scene. It didn't frighten her for some reason, so she decided to take a chance. She felt herself being transported, as if she was stepping into a whole new atmosphere, or perhaps another layer, as she had seen it translucent over the normal land. The air was chilly, and the sensation of winds around her carried leaves in a circular format, reaching from her toes to high into a darkening sky.

She felt hyperaware of everything around her, the strands of invisible chakra, that now weren't so invisible. The air smelt like rotting fruit and decaying leaves, the grass tickled her feet through her sandals. It was so real. So realistic and perfect, that she instinctively knew this wasn't real. Sakura touched a strand of chakra, and felt her inner consciousness go to the front.

_**I think this leads somewhere.**_

_It feels like sensei's chakra..._

**_Hey look.. Sasuke's coming out._**

He appeared just as he had the many, many times before, except this time, when he dropped in front of her, she felt her heart lurch. She knew it wasn't real, it couldn't be, but her emotions were falling for it. She took a deep breath and calmed herself, letting her inner work the emotional part of her brain. Sasuke wheezed, and his words tore into her. But she stayed strong, willing herself not to let her mind get caught up in the swirling vortex of emotions that were waiting for her to lose control. Eventually, Sasuke disappeared and she could feel the illusion changing again.

She didn't want to let that happen, so she pushed and pulled at her consciousness until whatever was around her in this reality was a blur, choosing instead to follow the chakra strands and where it led. It curved around the forest in a neat criss-cross manner, eventually straightening into a tunnel that was in the same area as the tunnel of black Sasuke walked out from. Sakura followed it, feeling her steps get lighter and lighter, as if she was going to fly up. It was a scary feeling, so she forced herself to stay grounded.

_**Hey me...**_

_Yes?_

**_I think we've voluntarily walked into a genjutsu..._**

_Excuse me? You tell me this now?_

**_I just thought of it... and.._**

_?_

**_..._**

_Why are you telling me this now?_

**_Well.. I feel like... I can walk right out of you now._**

_WHAT?_

**_Yeah and that doesn't happen. At all. _**

_So... what does it feel like for you?_

**_Well... it's the same as you but like... in energy form..._**

_Energy form? _

**_Like different waves or pulses... some of it is tighter knit chakra, some of it is lose and spirally... and they all move differently..._**

_I see..._

**_You want to try and feel it?_**

_I can?_

**_Yeah... I think.. hang on... let me just... okay... um... yeah that's-_**

_OH SHIT!_

Sakura breathed in hard, the feeling was amazing! She closed her eyes, and all she could see were bright blue, neon strands of light. It was all around her, and just like inner had said.

_Inner this is so cool!_

**_Hang on, I'm going to try and come out._**

_WHAT?_

**_Calm down! It's a test run. You know I've tried and I can't actually pop out because you know, energy type fields or something._**

_Okay.. okay..._

She felt a relaxation of a pressure she didn't know was in her head. The pressure seemed to spiral a little bit, before it was pushed effortlessly from the mid point between her eyebrows and forehead. And there she was before her, though not entirely in black and white the way she had appeared in Sakura's head before. Her figure was as fleshed out as Sakura's own, the hand on her hip and the smirk on her face however, was entirely her own.

Inner, while not black and white exactly, was like an inverse-colored version of Sakura. Hair became lighter, skin became darker, and what are generally dark areas of the body like the mouth and pupils, were light on inner. She wore an itty-bitty version of Sakura's blue top and red skirt, except it had a saucy twist. No spandex pants, only mesh. In fact, if the tiny white lines across her body were not a trick of the light, it was probably a full-body mesh suit, complete with combat boots. One other thing, inner _gleamed _with a dull silver sheen.

Wow... she looked cool.

Inner smirked. "**I know**."

_Shit you can read my mind?_

"**I'm part of your mind honey.**"

_Great_

"So why did you want to come out?"

"**To explore.**"

"Explore what?" Sakura frowned. What else was there anyway, besides the scary as hell dark abyss in front of her.

"**That light feeling you dummy, I want to see where it leads."**

"What if you get lost?"

"**I can't get lost.**"

"Of course you can. You're part me, as you say so all the time and I've gotten lost so many-" Sakura was paused when her Inner held up a hand to pause her thoughts.

"**Hold it right there, I know, the time in the flower maze, the time in the new block of Konoha and the time you kept walking in a freaking circle around Konoha, I mean.. who the hell gets lost with a freaking gate to guide you back into the village?"**

Sakura blushed fiercely. "That's not fair and you know it! You totally could have helped me out, but you preferred to entertain yourself." She said, pointing accusingly at her alter-ego.

**"I was enjoying myself, being a ball of literal energy is boring sometimes."**

"Yeah, you're a ball of energy! You have an eidetic memory of pretty much everything in the village, which should be put to good use!"

"**Psh. We have more important things to do right now." **Inner muttered, waving her hand, "**Like experimenting!"**

"Not important... pah... so what is so important?"

"**You mean besides getting the bell?" **She said sassily, head cocked to the side and grinning, "**Well trying out things in here.. Like maybe... THIS!"** With a wave of her hand, Inner turned the entire tunnel into a bedazzled, Victorian-styled chamber that just had no end. Sakura could feel the energy that had been used and was surprised to feel part of that energy sparking out of her skin too.

Inner smirked, "**Yeah, we both can do that... nice huh?" **

Looking around curiously, Sakura decided to try something. With a quick 'push' in her mind and a swirl of her fingertips, she conjured up a beautiful fountain sculpture in the middle of the room, complete with jewels.

Inner nodded with approval. As if she seemed to remember something, she pressed her palms together in a quick clap.

"**That's right... hey if this is a genjutsu, aren't we both kind of vulnerable right now?"**

She was right... hmm...

They both sat down on equally plush, gold plated chairs filled with turquoise cushions and beaded tassels.

"Well in an actual fight, we wouldn't be exploring a genjutsu right? We would just avoid it."

"**Yeah but.. see, all those chakra strings could lead back to the person's actual hiding place, or like... Whatever it's called and we might need that."**

"But how are we going to protect my-" She cut herself off at Inner's glare, "Our.. body?"

"**You're the one that can control walking through those layers..." **She rested her chin on her palm for a second, "**So I'll assume control and protect the body while you head off to get the dude... Hang on let me check something..."**

Inner vanished off for a second, and Sakura could feel her peeking around the genjutsu and jumping in and out of her consciousness. When she returned, she was excited and animated.

"**Get this! You're not actually still on the training grounds!"**

"What? What do you mean?"

"**Kay so you know how you were in fantasyland for a second... well now you're actually in this genjutsu... you're like... in Kakashi-hotstuffs brain right now.. or like... in the thing that connects his imagination to you or something!"**

"So we aren't vulnerable... THIS IS TOTALLY-"

**"A**W**E**S**O**M**E".**

She could totally sneak up on him!

"**AND AND AND... get this too... That light feeling? I think... it means like... while your bod is in this place, your thinking-"**

"Consciousness."

**"Right consciousness, can head up into his brain!"**

"No way."

"**I'm going to go check it out right now," **Inner clapped her hands excitedly, "**You, go and find Kakashi-sensei, and get the damn bells because we have such a cool thing going on right now we can NOT get sent back into the academy!"**

"Wait wait wait, Inner what if you get lost?"

"**Girl I can not get lost, we are one and the same, we are connected and tethered or whatever synonym you are going to use so you go do your job, and I will do mine!"**

"Don't hurt him or anything!" As ludicrous as it sounded, she had a feeling that Inner was more trouble than she appeared.

"**Yeah yeah, just going to sift and explore girl," **With a wave, she bounded off in an upward direction, "**Bye bye..." **Her voice getting weaker and weaker, although it remained in her ear.

Inner was right, and she was probably smirking at that, but Sakura could feel their connection. It wasn't just strands or whatever, it was like... a whole... mini tunnel filled with some... thing.. that connected the both.

'I wonder if I can do this myself.. with my own genjutsu..." She thought... even better if she didn't have to cast an actual genjutsu... just the properties of it...

But now really wasn't the time to be thinking about what she could do with herself, better to make sure she didn't go back to the academy before she became overly-ambitious. She turned to look at the endless bedazzled tunnel, steeled herself, and started walking. The lines of chakra were fairly orderly, curving every now and then and giving the tunnel a turn here and there. When she finally reached the end of the chakra strings, Kakashi-sensei was nowhere in sight.

What on earth? Did that mean the genjutsu just functioned on it's own?

No.. genjutsu could still be called off by the user.. so it had to be connected to the user... somehow or rather.

Sakura placed a thin layer of chakra over her eyes with the hope it would help in some way and increased her awareness of her surroundings. Was there a difference in the energy around her? She opened her eyes, and suddenly, everything was impossibly clear, sharp and detailed. She could see all the fantasy land and original landscape with ease, when previously it had been incredibly faint and easy to dismiss. What had changed however, was the tiny details in the air now. Instead of closing her eyes and getting inner's help, she could see the chakra strands and energy in it's entirety all on her own.

The fantasyland with a myriad of thinly layered, glowing, sparkling energies that swirled in the prettiest formations. The beings in there shimmered and shined, with silvery sheens coming off their auras.

But, with this landscape, it was very different. Maybe it was because she was literally a foot behind the real world, but what she could see was so much... so much more distinct and unlike the other. The energies were solid in color, in varying opacities. Non were completely opaque, and there were mixes of chakra and energy all over. Chakra was blue, and she could see random spurts left over everywhere, in the bush or trees, some with a strong, rolling wave and others with sharp edges. Then, she noticed that one was... sort of in a line, coming from loose zig-zags of energy seeping off the tunnel. Likely, the tunnel would eventually disappear soon. The line of chakra was blurred and covered by dozens of other layers of energy and chakra.. but maybe if she just concentrated...

The feedback she was given was... wonderfully abundant with information. The chakra, in her head, automatically wove into the shape the chakra pathways took in the users body, telling her his gender. It was when she was carefully going through all this, after noticing this shape was male and very like Kakashi-sensei, that she realized something else. There was something else there, the way the chakra was woven around his eyes, around certain areas in the pathway... it had patterns.

Like in a genetic code...

Shaking her head for the nth time that day, Sakura berated herself for losing sight of what was important. The bells. Bells bells bells bells!

She forced herself to concentrate on that line of chakra, mixed and glowing with a pale blue light. In some areas, the brighter blue of the chakra left over from his bodily movements disappeared and instead she could see the pale blue light. It still had the same patterns that wove the image of Kakashi-sensei in her head, so she decided to trust her -shaky- judgement and follow it with her eyes.

The objects in her vision were more or less translucent, with their chakra resonating off them. She saw Kakashi's chakra fade into a tree and later saw another thick line past that tree, into a more dense part of the training grounds.

Now she had a problem... how was she going to get to Kakashi-sensei without him noticing her?

Casting another genjutsu to extend her walking distance was a bad idea at best. One, she didn't know any genjutsu. Two, even if she did a Jounin like Kakashi-sensei would see it coming from a mile away. Three, because of those two reasons, it was unpractical.

The chances of her sneaking up on him were a bad idea. What if he tried to put another genjutsu on her? Even if she had an obscure idea on how to avoid it... well it was kind of nice to have a secret right? Even worse, what if he decided to spar with her? Though spar was the wrong word, she'd just get beaten into the ground.

Sakura looked around and realized the fantasyland was still there. That's right. If she could walk in a genjutsu.. couldn't she do the same? Sakura took a deep breath and willed her consciousness to the fantasyland, she left the layer of chakra over her eyes and that's when she saw it. The layer of the fantasy background had the thinnest, faintest layer of white over it. Without her chakra, it was likely she wouldn't have noticed it, let alone be able to feel it out. It was everywhere she realized, except it was twice as thin over the normal landscape.

The blur of hallucinations slash spirit-like creatures slash nymphs hovering came into focus. They were still chattering, and it seems news traveled fast about her, but they seemed calmer. She guessed this whitish, thin layer of whatever it was called was how they travelled around without being seen. With a little luck, she could do so too.

With a deep breath, she extended her chakra lightly, and when it touched that layer, something in her chakra jumped. The layer felt... ghostly. It was like the most intangible mist, you knew it was there but it was impossible to feel. It was cold on her fingertips, but when she blinked and held it for just a second, it glowed a frosty white behind her eyelids.

One more deep breath, and with the awareness of something now brimming in her... -why hadn't she noticed this before?-... she stepped in, gaining a strange feeling of acceptance. Random fantasy creatures approached her when she was there, the illusion from earlier now just an image of woven chakra strands while the fantasy land was just a concentrated step away. She let the image of that land fade away from her vision and instead, looked around again in wonder. The land was exactly as it had been, not a leaf out of place. Instead, she saw nymphs with their heads and hair forming from the tree bark to take a look at her. Purplish girls with wings or just glowing droplets hanging from their skin flew about in the air. It was then she guessed that while they were birds in the more human world, they stayed spirit-like humanoid figures in this one.

She waved, smiling and trying to be friendly. Realizing she was being a bit rude, she gave a low bow and then tried to explain herself to the quiet, whispering beings around her.

"Hello... Um...I - I don't mean to intrude."

The stared at her, and then a young girl with light blue hair and silver gills spoke up.

"She's one of us." Or that's what Sakura thought she heard. What with the tinkling bells and water droplets in her voice.

The other beings stared up at her, some expressing their dissent and what she was saying, but none disagreeing.

"She does have... a similar _gi _to us... it's mixed but same nonetheless."

Finally, a woman who was clearly older than the rest of them, but with a youthful face approached her. Her body was still perfect, dressed in loose layers of varying shades of grey, purple and blue, with silver and gold adornments around her face and on her wrists. Hair the color of blinding snow and eyes in a deep red-purple gradient.

"It is the first time a human has successfully crossed over to the _Razdel... _or partition..." The woman placed a hand on Sakura's head, "Welcome to our world young one, feel free to enter as you would wish," And then she paused for a moment, "Our nymphs and faeries would be happy to guide you, befriend you... but.." Her eyes became stern, "Do not bring any other mortal here.. human greed only brings negative energy to us, will never benefit us... and the agony most mortals face when they try to come through here... is beyond hellish..."

Sakura was stunned.

"So as I said, you are always welcome here young one, but do not try to bring anyone else in with you."

Her eyes softened once she said that, and with a sweep of gossamer thin clothing, disappeared into the dense forest, melding with nature. The multi-colored beings around her surrounded her, eyes warm with no unease, they walked as if the air was just another floor, graceful and unaffected by gravity. Their arms were open and welcoming.

A group of girls chattered with their melodious voices, fingertips sweeping through Sakura's hair. Excited by the pretty pink color and it's silvery sheen.

Sakura smiled, ready to start firing her questions when she realized that it noon was coming and it wasn't waiting for her.

She held her hands up in a 'wait' gesture, "One moment? I'm with my team now and I have to get the bells, can I come back and visit you later?"

They giggled and nodded, dropping a garland of flowers over her head before taking her hands in theirs and guiding her to her sensei. He was no longer standing, instead, he was crouched in a tree, between leaves and branches.

A particular girl, very petite hopped onto Sakura's shoulders and stared at her grey-haired sensei. "Is he your sensei?" Her musical voice asked.

"Yeah... wow you're so light!" Sakura replied, her hands holding onto the girl's thighs. She was lighter than a feather, her cool skin the only thing that reminded Sakura she was holding her up.

"He is so handsome..." The girl said, eyes lighting up into a mesmerizing green-grey, lips parting and beige hair fluttering in the wind.

One of the males around her, tall and pale, with golden hair and grey eyes growled playfully before picking up the girl and holding her to him. "I am far more handsome than that youngling Zuru-chii..."

The girl pouted, "He's handsome for a mortal... I've never really taken a good look at mortal men before..."

Sakura smiled, "You should see my crush..."

The nymphs and faeries around her widened their eyes, "Yours? Oh what does he look like? Is he handsome? He must be incredibly handsome for you to take notice of him Blossom-san.."

"He is... he has these lovely dark eyes... and dark hair with very pale skin... and he looks especially handsome when the sun hits him right-" and she gestured excitedly, leading the nymphs and faeries around her to squeal.

This was a lot of fun. They were all so happy and joyful... and not one of them had malicious intent, their energies were so different from chakra, radiating and giving off an incredibly soothing feeling.

With the girls around her being so encouraging, Sakura's courage came quickly. She could do this. Then she eyed the tree he was on. The branches were high and it wouldn't be easy at all to get up there with nothing to hold onto. As if the girls around her sensed her problem, they took hold of her, lifting her up as if she were the one that was weightless. A pretty red-haired nymph emerged from the tree, similar to the one she had seen before but with longer hair. She took hold of Sakura and the roots of the tree itself tripled in size, fitting nicely under Sakura, and together she was pushed up until she was right behind her sensei.

She closed her eyes, concentrating on layering chakra over them, moving it around so that she could feel the energy around her... and as quietly as she could, reached out, past the ... Partition? and grasped the bells. She saw Kakashi move to turn, the chakra in her eyes allowing for the most minute of movement to be accounted for, and she yanked the bells back in.

This was awesome! She got the bells, both of them. And even better, Kakashi-sensei, a top Jounin with the most amazing of skills, had no idea it was her.. -probably-... and he didn't catch her, and he couldn't see her now either.

Sakura clapped her hands in glee. One of the maidens came up to her, curious and picked up the bell from Sakura's hands.

"Is this what is so important Blossom-san?"

She nodded, "Yeah, if I didn't get this... I would have to be sent back to the academy."

The girl..-green hair, brown eyes and bronze glowing skin-... looked questioning. "But there are only two... yet your team has three?"

_Yet your team has three?_

That's right... why would Kakashi-sensei give them a test with... when it wasn't... he didn't have the authority to... what in the hell...? Sakura's mind raced, going through all of the books she had read previously, history, teams, teachers, duties... from the most boring to the most exciting. She went through her memories, teams... teams... until at last she stumbled on a faint memory. A team of two guys and one girl... all only children from clans that had retreated away from the politics of Konoha... She remembered seeing them in passing... sitting on a bridge complaining about someone who was late... by the dango stand complaining they had failed and had to go back... go back where? At this time Sakura's mind filled in the blanks for her. They had to go back to the academy. But only days later she had seen them, running through the streets of Konoha after a cat, eventually meeting up with a dark-haired woman.

Sakura smacked her head.

The girls around her gasped. One of them came forward and took her hand away from her head, eyes reproachful. "Don't hit yourself Blossom-san! It is unbecoming and unnecessary!" The tinkling in her voice was lower... more bass than treble... and it was sharp and forceful.

More came forward. "That's right... why would you hurt yourself on purpose? Talk it out... we are all family... tell us!"

So Sakura told them about what she thought. It was about teamwork... that's what the whole purpose of the test really was. He had said they all had to get the bells, if they failed... and he didn't specify what constituted failing, they would have to return to the academy.

"But he doesn't have the authority for that, I think.. he said that to make us competitive... give the other person up, this test is to see how compatible and how willing we are to work with one another... "

Shinobi in the field often were in teams.. they had to watch each other's backs... that's just how it was.

With her mind made up, she ran off in another direction, following the two other random blues that, while had different patterns, she couldn't tell whose was whose until..-and this was just guesswork, it was actually in the living person's body-... she was there. Deciding to find Sasuke first, she tried reaching out to the left over chakra and energy. Immediately she gained feedback, height, image... this person was lean... fairly tall but closer to her height. There were the same patterns in his chakra as Kakashi-sensei's, five different tones with two patterns. It was so weird...

Sakura concentrated on the chakra, visualizing it... and instead of letting the image just form in her head, she followed it until it stopped, and the chakra had increased and was pulsing in a lively way. This time, the chakra and it's patterns were stronger. One pattern was at the forefront... another was behind... as if it was hidden by something. This time, she could sense who's chakra it was.

Sasuke.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in another tree, Kakashi looked around him, suddenly paranoid that someone random was going to appear and steal something more valuable.<p>

Like his Icha Icha book... oh the heavenly literature that it was...

* * *

><p>AND SCENE!<p>

Hope you guys enjoyed it, I'll try to answer any questions you guys have. Review it guys and comment or critique or criticize however you would like. Always welcome. ;)


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